Malaysia Bourse May See Continued Consolidation

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Wednesday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had gained almost 20 points or 1.1 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now sits just above the 1,740-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is unclear, with technology stocks likely under pressure while oil, pharmaceutical and housing stocks offering support. The European and U.S. markets were mixed to lower and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Wednesday following gains from the industrials and mixed performances from the financial shares, plantation stocks and telecoms.

For the day, the index shed 5.44 points or 0.31 percent to finish at 1,742.82 after trading between 1,740.49 and 1,751.22. Among the actives, 99 Speed Mart Retail soared 2.82 percent, while AMMB Holdings slipped 0.15 percent, Axiata retreated 1.21 percent, Celcomdigi was up 0.31 percent, CIMB Group sank 0.70 percent, Gamuda spiked 1.47 percent, IHH Healthcare advanced 0.90 percent, IOI Corporation added 0.50 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong eased 0.10 percent, Maxis dropped 0.77 percent, MISC perked 0.25 percent, MRDIY jumped 1.12 percent, Nestle Malaysia lost 0.27 percent, Petronas Chemicals plummeted 2.74 percent, Petronas Dagangan stumbled 1.77 percent, Petronas Gas fell 0.22 percent, PPB Group shed 0.36 percent, Press Metal slumped 0.78 percent, Public Bank skidded 0.81 percent, QL Resources surged 4.00 percent, RHB Bank collected 0.12 percent, Sime Darby gained 0.46 percent, SD Guthrie declined 1.02 percent, Sunway rose 0.34 percent, Telekom Malaysia tumbled 1.37 percent, Tenaga Nasional dipped 0.14 percent, YTL Corporation tanked 1.92 percent, YTL Power plunged 2.44 percent and Maybank was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened mixed but quickly diverged, finally finishing the session on opposite sides of the unchanged line.

The Dow rallied 260.31 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 49,501, while the NASDAQ tumbled 350.61 points or 1.51 percent to end at 22,904.58 and the S&P 500 sank 35.09 points or 0.51 percent to close at 6,882.72.

The advance by the Dow was fueled by stocks like Amgen (AMGN), 3M (MMM) and Nike (NKE), which saw better than expected quarterly results.

Meanwhile, traders continued to rotate out of the tech sector, dragging the NASDAQ lower as semiconductor stocks showed a substantial move to the downside.

In U.S. economic news, payroll processor ADP said private sector employment in the U.S. increased by much less than expected in January. Also, the Institute for Supply Management said its reading on U.S. service sector activity came in unchanged last month.

Crude oil prices surged on Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said inventories in the U.S. fell far more than expected. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was up $1.97 or 3.12 percent at $65.18 per barrel.